Submitted By: Tammy
Answered: March 25, 2014 8:30 am

I’m taking RMDs from my IRA. I don’t need the money now, so can I put the money into my Roth IRA?

There are only 2 ways to put money into a Roth IRA: (1) an annual contribution, which must be based on earned income and can only be made up to a set dollar amount annually; and (2) a conversion from a traditional IRA, which requires immediate income recognition of the converted amount (assuming the account was funded entirely with deductible contributions). Amounts that must be taken as required minimum distributions (RMDs) are not eligible for conversion. Only amounts exceeding the RMD can be converted.

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Tax Glossary

Estimated tax

Advance payment of current tax liability based either on wage withholdings or installment payments of your estimated tax liability. To avoid penalties, you generally must pay to the IRS either 90% of your final tax liability, or either 100% or 110% of the prior year’s tax liability, depending on your adjusted gross income.

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